I finally tried running the auger at half speed on a sand bar in the Ohio River last week

Kept burning out shear pins running it full tilt like I always do, so I dropped to 50% RPM as a last resort. The suction actually improved and I pulled 40 more yards in the same shift than usual. Has anyone else messed around with varying their cutter speed based on material instead of just flooring it?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_leo2mo ago

That line about "flooring it" hit close to home. It's the same with a lot of stuff we do, not just running equipment. I've noticed that in my own life, pushing everything to the max all the time just burns things out faster, like with this old pressure washer I've got. Running it at half throttle actually lets it build pressure better instead of choking itself out. You ever catch yourself doing that with anything else, just slowing down to get more done?

theabennett17d ago

Read somewhere that dredge operators in the Gulf figured this out years ago with their cutterheads, slowing down to match the seabed. Sounds like you stumbled onto the same trick. Good on you for trying it.

the_diana2mo ago

@the_leo sounds like you and me both need to learn the value of taking it easy before something else breaks.

the_leo17d ago

Hold on, half throttle on a pressure washer builds MORE pressure? That actually makes zero sense to my brain but now I gotta try it. I've got an old Honda one that's been bogging down on me and I just assumed it was dying. You're telling me I might've been drowning it this whole time? Huh. Makes me wonder how many other things I've been running wrong just because I thought faster was always better.